US STOCKS fell on Wednesday following US President Donald Trump warning to Russia that he will unleash missiles against Syria sparking fears of World War 3 as gold spiked.

US stocks fell as President Trump's tweets added to the tensions with Russia

Tensions soared as the US President threatened Russia and Syria in the wake of the suspected chemical attack in Douma on Saturday.

Mr Trump tweeted: “Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and 'smart!' You shouldn't be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it.”

The Dow Jones, S&P500 and the Nasdaq Composite all dropped.

The Dow Jones was down by 183 points or a fall of 0.75 percent at 18.36. The S&P500 was down 11.93 points or 0.45 percent and the Nasdaq composite was down by 13.25 points or 0.17 percent.

Donald and Melania Trump arrive for Easter service

Donald and Melania Trump arrive for Easter service at the Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Palm Beach, Florida.

Donald and Melania Trump arrive for Easter service at the Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Palm Beach, Florida

The fallout comes after the Russian ambassador to Lebanon said Russia would shoot down any US missiles heading Syria’s way.

And Mr Trump's tweet hit other stocks with the FTSE 100 is down 10.31 or 0.14 percent.

Many of the world's main stock markets were back in the red after two days of gains.

The French CAC 40 was down 38.47 points or by 0.72 percent.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was last down 0.8 percent, while in Asia overnight Japan's Nikkei and Australian stocks both lost 0.4 percent, South Korea's KOSPI dipped 0.2 percent though China did end higher.

Responding to the heightened tensions the Russian rouble slumped as much as 2.5 percent against the dollar and even more versus the euro.